Real-World Stunt Finds Online Success

In anticipation of the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall," Coke Zero put unsuspecting travelers to the test with a series of obstacles separating them from free, exclusive tickets. While the experiential campaign (or PR stunt) is brilliant in and of itself, what I love most about the initiative is its durability well beyond the actual execution.  The video of the effort debuted on YouTube on October 18, and as of this post, has 6.6 million views and has been covered by Mashable, Business Week and others. To use a buzz phrase, you might say "it's gone viral."

From my chair, the execution beautifully illustrates why marketers and PR professionals need to consider whether or not the real-world executions they plan can be leveraged online to build brand excitement and buzz. Despite posts like "How to Make a Video go Viral," there is no exact formula or process to make a video go viral or determine what content will resonate with audiences, but Coke Zero's video does three things particularly well:

1. It uniquely plays on the Bond movies.  There may be videos (or challenges) similar to this, but I don't know if I've seen anything that takes its cues and inspiration from its source material in such a unique way.
2. It may have been initiated by Coke Zero, but the video isn't an over-the-top endorsement or commercial. The brand is secondary here.
3. And finally, the video and execution are fun, and because they are fun, viewers want to share the video with family and friends.

So when you're planning an execution, pay attention to what you're doing in the physical world, and let your imagination run wild. Give careful consideration to the possibility that what you're doing regionally may be of interest to a larger audience. I mean, really think about it. Play the video out in your head. You'll more than likely be biased, so consider another person's point of video. Is it something they'd want to share? Find fun? Have a unique angle? And most importantly, be honest with yourself or your boss or your client. If you don't think a video will work, don't force it. The descending voice isn't the popular one, but don't do something just to do it. You may have other opportunities; you just have to keep your eyes out (and your mind open) for them.

Have A Plan to Act In Real-Time

Politics aside, I think that few people will argue the fact that President Obama's campaign staff has done a wonderful job of leveraging digital communications and social media during both of his campaigns. So while it shouldn't come as a surprise, the team's decision to purchase keywords trending on Twitter during the vice presidential debate is just another example of their leadership in this space.

As Mashable points out, the campaign purchased not only "malarkey" (which was purchased for paid search purposes as well) but the trending terms "Jack Kennedy," "#VPDebate" and "Afghanistan in 2014" too. And I'm actually surprised that they didn't include the word "friend" based on Vice President Biden's repeated use of the word.

Though I was in class at the time, we were following the trending topics on Twitter in conjunction with the week's lecture, and using Zeebox, I noticed that NBC's debate coverage was drawing 895 tweets per minute at its peak. Sadly, I wasn't able to determine the total number of tweets per minute through Zeebox, but this limited sample goes to show the volume of conversation surrounding the live event compared to other programming at the same time.

Listening to the conversation and purchasing keywords in real-time is obviously important, but perhaps even more important is having the ability to act immediately when you see an opportunity. In my own career in corporate communications [and based on anecdotes from my peers], I've found that leadership can often be reluctant to give individuals the power to act upon such things without running the proverbial flag pole. Sadly, this can result in missed opportunities or worse, enabling the competition to act.

Similar to a crisis communications plan, PR and communications teams who handle paid search or promoted tweets should have processes in place to enable members of the team to act immediately if needed. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Identify a few key individuals who will be responsible for activating the campaign. No one person should have this responsibility; we all have busy lives and don't spend every moment in front of a computer, so multiple people need to have the ability to act when needed. This should include someone who manages your website in the event that content needs to be added or updated.
• Establish criteria for determining when it's appropriate to activate a campaign. Does there need to be a specific amount of volume around a key term? Does sentiment around the word matter? 
• Determine how much are you willing to bid or pay for keywords.
• Create a roadmap with a variety of scenarios so you know where you'll be directing your traffic. In the case of the presidential campaign, this should be fairly easy as users can be directed to pages containing the candidate's view on a particular platform.
• Develop a reporting process to notify leadership once a campaign is live.  

Now, I know there are a handful of things I'm omitting here, but the idea remains the same: have a plan. The last thing you want is to try to play catch up, and in our real-time world, it's something you can't afford.

The New Myspace Makes A Great First Impression

Ok. I'll admit it. I'm more than a little intrigued by the new Myspace teaser issued this week.

Even more than that, however, I can't wait to see what the company has planned for marketing the re-launch of the site over the next few weeks and months. The teaser video they created has set the bar high. I mean, the redesigned site actually looks, well ... cool. And by limiting the number of invitations that are being extended, they've managed to reach the early adopter in me who's shouting "Must. Try. New. Myspace. FIRST!"

News of the announcement is attracting a lot of positive feedback over Twitter as well as in the comments section of websites like Mashable, so they're off to a great start generating buzz. It's exactly what the brand needed to do if it's going to regain the prominence it once had. In my opinion, word-of-mouth is the best thing Myspace has going for it at the moment, especially when you consider this study that observes "in [electronic word-of-mouth] 1 person can affect the behavior of 8 other people." I'm interested to see how they build on this brief momentum; I'm especially looking forward to seeing to how they use Twitter and Facebook in their overall campaign strategy. That is, if they do at all.

But until we see more, consider this: we're using "cool" and "Myspace" in the same sentence. Who would have thought we'd be saying that about the brand in 2012?